Tip of the Tongue [BoyxBoy - Complete - CMS Bk. 1]

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Ren couldn't breathe. He sucked in air over and over, but it disappeared before it made it to his lungs. He gasped as he gripped Ashton tightly to his side. The arm Ashton had slung over Ren's neck was weak, barely holding onto Ren as Ren dragged Ashton across the ground. Ren's feet weren't doing much better. They were sore as if he'd been walking for hours and his ankles gave away under the pressure every other step.

But they were getting away. They weren't at the mercy of the Hunters. At least, not right then. He knew this wasn't going to be the last time they saw each other. When they stopped hiding in the forest, the world they once knew wasn't going to be the same.

Ren wasn't prepared for it.

The crying of the siren had lessened. The deafening sound wailed in the background. His feet dragged over wet soil and it was hard to pick them up so he didn't fall face first into the dirt. The ringing in his ears was a combination of the siren and his own fear he'd dug them further into a hole. But he pushed all those thoughts away. He couldn't think about them right then.

He looked down at Ashton. Ashton's face was whiter than usual. It was stark white, sickly white, and it made Ren's stomach turn with how bad it looked. His chest felt heavy as he noticed the beads of sweat dripping down Ashton's face. His lips were parted as he panted. His eyes were squeezed shut as if that would stop the pain.

"Hang on, okay? I'm not going to leave you." It was difficult to get the words out. He didn't want to lie.

Ashton's weak hands grabbed tightly to Ren. Ren jolted as one hand clasped his neck. It didn't hurt, but it was a pressure to his neck he wasn't comfortable with. He grabbed the offending hand, holding onto the wrist so Ashton couldn't move it any further.

Still, with Ashton's eyes closed, he kept his hand there.

"Let go, Ashton," Ren whispered.

He hadn't stopped walking. He couldn't. The Hunters could still be coming after them. It would take under a fraction of a second for them to get ahead and to find them. He needed to keep moving no matter what happened.

Ashton did drop his hand. It slid down Ren's neck, down his chest, and fell away to Ashton's side. Ren didn't know what had happened. He wasn't going to push it further though. He merely held Ashton as hard as he could and walked faster. There was a burst in his step. He couldn't feel the thing, but he was sure it had something to do with the burst of energy he had.

What he did back there couldn't have been possibly all him. The thing had driven him to do something so reckless it could have gotten both of them killed. He hadn't been thinking and that was the problem with him. He didn't think anything fucking through and it always lead to him getting into messes like this.

Time was sluggish. He felt sluggish. His arms went numb from pulling Ashton's weight. He gritted his teeth as the pain in his back got to be too much. But he pushed through it. He bit his tongue as his thighs ached and his feet screamed to be given a break. The sirens were almost dead, but he knew it wasn't enough for Ashton. He was still weak and the sirens had to be completely gone for him to recover.

If the sirens had hurt Ren that much, it had to be thousands of times worse for Ashton.

Then, Ren saw a combed out cave made of dirt.

"Fuck. Yes."

He was jolted with another burst of energy. He didn't care where it came from. He just took off with it, pulling Ashton toward the opening, not caring if there was something lurking inside. It couldn't be as bad as the Hunters following them. He didn't even care if it was a Hell Hound. They couldn't do what that freak Cipher could do to them.